


Obi-Wan's Forgetful Life Day Disaster

by little_dumpling



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: CC-2224 | Cody is a Good Bro, Christmas Themed, Fix-It, Friendship, Gen, Happy Obi-Wan Kenobi, Life Day (Star Wars), Obi-Wan Kenobi Gets a Hug, Obi-Wan Kenobi is Tired, Obi-Wan Kenobi is a Mess, Order 66 Didn't Happen (Star Wars), Post-Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, Protective Mace Windu, Secret Santa, but Star Wars, no beta we die like palps plans in this AU, winter holidays
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-23
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:27:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28271625
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/little_dumpling/pseuds/little_dumpling
Summary: Obi-Wan is tired. The war has ended, but that doesn't mean Obi-Wan's work is finished. Now he has to help the Jedi figure out where the Clones fit into their Order. Life Day is quickly approaching, not that Obi-Wan remembers. Despite his forgetfulness, this is going to be a Life Day Obi-Wan never forgets.Friendship always triumphs, even over stress and insomnia.
Relationships: CC-2224 | Cody & Obi-Wan Kenobi, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Mace Windu
Comments: 16
Kudos: 188
Collections: Star Wars Secret Santa 2020





	Obi-Wan's Forgetful Life Day Disaster

**Author's Note:**

  * For [@bakunawaa](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=%40bakunawaa).



> Gift for @bakunawaa on Tumblr for the Star Wars Secret Santa. He asked for Obi-Wan, or Clones, winter, or ROTS never happened themed. So I've put them all together! :) This is my first serious attempt at gen, so I hope you enjoy!
> 
>  **Note** : Life Day (according to Disney) is the Star Wars winter holiday. Like their winter solstice, or Christmas, or New Years, or Hanukkah, etc.  
>  **Note 2** : The worse my insomnia is, the worse my memory gets. I literally have told people something important only to forget that I had a day or two later. So hopefully the memory issues brought up in this fic aren't too unbelievable, since they are based on my own memory issues.
> 
>  **Vod'e** : the clones or clones plural (literally: brothers/sisters)  
>  **Vod** : one clone (literally: one brother/sister)

* * *

When the fighting was finally over, no one was sure what would happen to the clones.

The dust had settled on the horrible disaster that the Republic had been, the newly-deceased chancellor's tyrannical rule was over, and the Senate had no idea what to do with their now defunct army.

There was no reason to _have_ an army anymore. No conflict left to fight. No reason to have men solely bred and raised for war. But that also meant the Senate did not have any more reasons to deny the clones, the _people_ they had treated as expendable cannon fodder, basic sentient rights that all other republic citizens had.

And with both the Jedi and the News Media putting pressure on the Senate to give the Vod'e rights, the Senate finally gave in and granted the clones citizenship.

The Senate was still too cheap and full of too much infighting to agree to pay the Vod'e for their past service, so the Jedi struck a deal with the Senate.

The Clone Army would not demand compensation, if the Army was allowed to come solely under the jurisdiction of the Jedi, and would be supported, paid and treated as another arm of the Jedi's judicial force from then on.

The Jedi knew that if the Senate agreed, then the Senate would no longer have any power to tell the clones to do what they wanted. Instead, the Jedi would have the freedom decide when and where to send the military force, and small clone forces would accompany the diminished Jedi on their missions, and answer only to the Jedi and their purview.

At first the Senate refused. That was too much power for the Jedi to hold, they said. But in reality, the Senate did not want to lose the power _they_ held, they did not want to lose having a huge army at their beck and call. 

But once the Jedi hired an independent accountant to calculate how much money was owed to the Clones for their service, the Senate hesitantly relented. They did not want responsibility to pay back pay the clones or pay their future wages, the Senate wanted that less than they wanted that power. Already the peoples of their individual systems were crying out for reduced Senate spending and taxes. They could not fiscally justify keeping the Army.

In the end the Senate bowed to the pressure of their taxpayers rather than because they felt strongly over the moral issue. Of course, they immediately pretended like they had some moral high ground over the issue for granting the Clones citizenship and transferring their force to the people who knew them the best: their Jedi generals and commanders.

The Jedi and Clones did not let this act of moral superiority faze them. Especially as both the Jedi and Clones were now free from the war and the Senate's petty demands. Instead they took that for the victory it was.

But that did mean that all the Clones needed to be housed and fed and kept comfortable as the transition from soldiers into the Jedi's defensive force began.

Only eight weeks before the next Life Day, the clones came under the jurisdiction of the Jedi and slowly transitioned from their shoddy and hurriedly constructed Republic barracks into new living quarters. Many of which were slowly being renovated to suit their needs in the Jedi temple.

And so Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jedi High Councillor, Master and former General, found himself working harder than he had during the war, just to get everything organized for the Vod'e. For the men he had fought side-by-side by. Men he respected and loved.

But what Obi-Wan Kenobi didn't know, was that the lead up to this Life Day was going to be the most stressful and forgetful holiday season he'd ever experienced.

* * *

For most of the next month, Obi-Wan spent more time in council meetings than he had in the past _year_ of the war. There was always some new fire to put out, some new deal to negotiate with the old separatists, new teams of Jedi and their battalions to sort and assign, new budgets and places to look for the money to pay all these men living wages, and living issues with an influx of almost a million new people living within their Order.

The whole ordeal made Obi-Wan tired. He felt more emotionally tired now than he had after any conflict during the war. And as Life Day approached, the holiday completely slipped from his sleep-deprived mind. 

It wasn't until a week before Life Day, that he even remembered the holiday was coming up. And even that was only because Ahsoka reminded him...

* * *

Ahsoka was lying upside-down on his large couch, when he entered his suite after a council meeting, late that night. It was so late, it wasn't a respectable time to even think about eating late meal, but his stomach was protesting the missing meal, loudly.

“Ahsoka?” Obi-Wan tilted his head and looked at his upside-down grand-padawan. Her eyes were closed and her were lekkus dangerously close to touching the floor. “What are you doing down there?”

Her face was slightly darker than usual, meaning she must have been in the upside-down position for quite some time. She cracked open one eye to peak at him. “Ever since I moved into Skyguy's apartment to finish the 'last learnings' of my apprenticeship, I've walked in on him and Padme in a compromising position 7 times!” She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. “ _Seven!_ I'm tired of it, Master Obi-Wan.”

Obi-Wan covered his mouth and stroked his beard, hiding the fact that he was laughing at her. He'd warned Anakin that sharing a living space with his nearly grown padawan was a bad idea. Force, he'd warned Ahsoka it would be better for the two of them to keep separate quarters, but neither had listened. They had insisted that the recommendation that most Masters got from the Knighting committee: to share living space to help increase learning opportunities in the last couple years of apprenticeship, was an good and important recommendation. Never mind that Obi-Wan was on the High Council and had almost begged them not to share an apartment. It was only advice, he had pleaded, _not_ a rule.

Not that either listened to him. Which was about par for the course.

Anakin obviously didn't remember how much he hated sharing rooms with Obi-Wan those last couple years before his surprise knighting. And Obi-Wan had been a _lot_ more discrete about his love life.

“Well, you know the guest room is always available for you here,” he gestured to the spare room beside his.

She spun around on the couch, suddenly sitting right-side up and smiling wide. “I was hoping you'd say that, Master! I need a break from Skyguy.”

She stood from her perch on the couch, “And just in time for Life Day too! I hope we're going to do something fun!”

Obi-Wan's face blanched. He'd forgotten about Life Day. During the first year of Anakin's apprenticeship, the boy had made a big deal about having never celebrated a Life Day before, so Obi-Wan had done his best over the years to make it a special day for his Padawan, even after he'd grown and been knighted.

It was the one day in the whole year that all of the Jedi actually celebrated a galactic holiday together. And it wasn't hard to get into the season's spirit with how festive the Temple usually turned itself out.

In the past, he, Anakin and a few of his close friends exchanged small gifts representing how appreciative they all were to have each other in their lives. But this year he'd completely forgotten.

Not only had he forgotten the gifts, but since he had been the first of his friends to get a Padawan, Life Day feast amongst his friends had always been celebrated in _his_ quarters. He was usually the one to cook the meal. Which worked for him because all of his friends were terrible cooks.

Everyone in the temple had more _this_ year to be thankful for than ever before. Life Day was important in the rejoicing of family, friendship, connections and a new year. And he'd really screwed that up. This year he'd done nothing to decorate or prepare for such a feast!

And not just for his friends and Jedi family, but his men! He was still in charge of one third of the Jedi's new Judicial forces! And he couldn't imagine that his men had ever even celebrated a proper Life Day before.

He needed to do _something_ for them! And he only had five days!

He wondered what the Vod'e themselves had planned for Life Day and determined himself to asking the next afternoon when he went over rosters and assignments with Cody.

While in deep thought about how much he was going to need to arrange, and having major anxiety about only having five days left to arrange it, he forgot his hunger until his stomach let out a loud exclamation.

“Master,” Ahsoka smiled cheekily, “Haven't you had late meal yet? It's almost 22 hundred!”

Obi-Wan blushed at Ahsoka's observation. “Well, the council meeting did run a bit long...”

Ahsoka grabbed his elbow and dragged him to the door. “You've got no food in here, sounds like we need to get you to the commissary before it closes for the night.”

“Really Ahsoka, I'm fine!”

But luckily, his protests fell on deaf ears.

* * *

That night as Obi-Wan was lying in bed, trying to get to sleep, he couldn't help but try to run through all of the things he would need to get done tomorrow, in order to get ready for Life Day.

He would need to arrange for a Life Day meal for all of the Vod'e under his purview and get the ingredients needed for his own meal with his friends. He would most likely need to get a present for each of the Vod'e, to show his gratitude for their support and hard work, as well as a small present for each of his friends, his former padawan and grandpadawan to show his gratitude for their support and love.

All of those tasks didn't include all of the time he would need to spend on his council responsibilities too...

It was a long time before he was able to fall asleep.

* * *

“—the temple ready and we need to arrange a feast and gifts for the Vod'e! It's like we've completely forgotten about Life Day this year,” Obi-Wan whined at Mace as they stepped off the elevator the next morning.

The vein in Mace's forehead began visibly throbbing, and the meeting hadn't even started yet. “Obi-Wan really. We talked about Life Day seven weeks ago.” He raised his left eyebrow in antipathy and concern. And it was a credit to how well Obi-Wan knew Mace that he knew the expression held both of those emotions. “You were asked to have some of the unassigned Vod'e help the decorating committee get the temple ready for our Life Day celebrations, while other unassigned Vod'e were to help fill the Jedi's yearly humanitarian hampers that go to families in need on Coruscant.”

“What?” Obi-Wan blinked, not remembering that conversation. “I don't ever remember there ever having been a decorating committee or humanitarian hampers before...”

Mace nodded, “We haven't been able to do either of them _since_ you were appointed to the council. The war took priority over so many things. But we always used to have these Life Day preparations before the war... And what do you mean you don't remember? Were you asleep during that meeting or something?” Mace's eyes scanned Obi-Wan's face, searching for something.

Obi-Wan blushed, he had been very tired for the last eight weeks. The end of the war, the responsibilities that had brought, and the responsibilities he'd taken on since it's end had just complied and it seemed like everyday he lost a few more minutes of sleep.

Not to mention that while most of the Councillors had given up most of their army battalions to fill in the security forces that would accompany each Jedi on a mission, Obi-Wan had not.

The portion of the army that was under his command had absorbed the Coruscant guard, and was still completely planet-side. This mean they were still working directly under him and under his supervision. He didn't begrudge the fact that he still held such a huge responsibility leading these men, but it did mean that when he wasn't in council meetings, he was working with Cody to find assignments for his battalions on planet, create new roles for the men, make rosters, and even make sure all of the Vod'e lived in both humane and habitable places spread through the temple and across the improved barracks spread through Coruscant. He now did more paperwork than he had during the worst days of the war.

He focused back on his friend who was speaking again.

“You were even the one to volunteer your troops, that were unassigned, to work on the humanitarian effort and decorating. Don't you remember?”

It looked like there was one more thing Obi-Wan needed to talk to Cody about. It probably wouldn't look very good if he'd completely forgotten to assign these tasks... Which he had.

“As for gifts for the Men, each Jedi responsible for a portion of the Vod'e were supposed to arrange for gifts for their subordinates.”

Obi-Wan sighed, that meant he now had four and a half days to make sure he had presents for just over three-hundred thousand men and he _still_ had to figure out how to subtly assign men to the decorating and humanitarian hamper committees. This Life Day was shaping up more and more to be a very rushed and last minute affair.

He just felt so _tired_ and really wasn't sure _when_ he was going to get everything done.

* * *

The morning council meeting went a little long, but not so long that Obi-Wan was more than a few minutes late for his meeting with Cody, which was scheduled just after mid-day meal.

So when Obi-Wan approached the small meeting room, a few levels down from the council room, he wasn't too late but he also wasn't his usual ten minutes early.

When he walked through the door, Cody stood up from his chair, concern painted across his face.

“Sir, everything alright?”

“Oh yes Cody, the council meeting just went a little long.”

Cody nodded and back sat down in his seat at the small table, his command datapad set up in front of him, ready for the meeting. “Did you have a chance to get something to eat for mid-day meal, sir?”

“I'm fine,” Obi-Wan waved his hand through the air, “I had a large breakfast.” Just as he finished speaking when his stomach gurgled with hunger. _Traitor_ , he thought.

He would have ignored his stomach, as usual, but the look of exasperation on Cody's face made him pause. “It's alright, I'll have something after we finish.”

Cody just rolled his eyes, reached into the pocket of his uniform blacks, pulled out a nutrient bar and handed it over.

“Oh no, that's alright Cody, I don't—”

“Take it and eat it sir, or I will sit and wait until you've gone to get some real food.”

Obi-Wan smiled at his Commander. The man was still looking out for him even after the war ended. He treasured their friendship and was happy their comradely continued even now that the fighting had ended. “Thank-you, Cody.” He wouldn't have wanted to work so closely with anyone else.

Cody went over any new assignments for Vod under their care as Obi-Wan got settled and began to eat the nutrient bar. Vanilla flavored. Not the best, but nor the worst.

After they had both finished, Obi-Wan read and approved the list and tried to broach the topic that had been weighing on his mind for the last fifteen hours.

“Cody, Life Day is approaching.”

Cody nodded, preoccupied with sending out the newly approved assignments and guard schedule from his datapad.

“I seem to have found myself in a bit of a tight spot.” Obi-Wan's right hand twitched, hidden under his flowing robe sleeve, in an unconscious fit of nerves.

Cody looked up from his datapad at the tone of stress in his voice. “What's wrong sir?”

“Well during Life Day, it is traditional to give those people you care for a small gift of gratitude for their continued presence in your life, as well as eat a large and frivolous meal with your friends and family. Considering how many of the Vod'e I care for, it would only make sense for me to provide presents and a Life Day meal for the Vod'e here on Coruscant.”

Cody nodded, eyebrows creased in confusion on where the conversation was going.

“I haven't done any preparation for this. Life Day is in four days, and I have become the equivalent of a absent-minded parent who has forgotten the date. I haven't gotten anything for the men or found a place for them to have a meal.”

Cody lifted one eyebrow in humor at the comparison of the Vod'e as Obi-Wan's children. For a moment he was quiet, looking at Obi-Wan in consideration. “Each of the Captains and Lieutenants went through the brothers they supervise and got colors and style preferences for a new casual set of clothes for each Vod. Sir, we talked about this over seven weeks ago and you approved my decisions. I've already ordered the clothing from an off-world supplier and they delivered the shipment arrived last week.”

“I did?” Obi-Wan scratched at his slightly unkempt beard. He probably should have trimmed it back weeks ago.

“Yes, sir.” Cody cocked his head, frowning at him. “Are you feeling alright, Master Kenobi?” The word “Master” was hesitant coming out of Cody's mouth, but after weeks of insisting he was no longer a General, Obi-Wan had finally convinced Cody to call him Master Kenobi, that was if he couldn't allow himself to call Obi-Wan by his first name.

“I uhm, I'm fine,” Obi-Wan said unconvincingly.

Cody narrowed his eyes, but didn't take the line of questioning any further. “Also, just as you requested, I booked the two largest multipurpose rooms in the temple for the Vod'e Life Day feast. I also hired caterers to prepare the food, so the meal wouldn't overwhelm the temple kitchen staff. 

“You seem to be really stressing over this, though. So was there anything else, sir?”

Obi-Wan felt confused and a bit speechless. He surely did not remember that conversation between him and Cody. Had he really asked Cody to arrange all that? He must have, right? “Well, Mace mentioned there was two committees needed with volunteers from the Vod'e, one to decorate the temple for Life Day, the other to fulfill the Order's promise for Life Day hampers for the needy.”

Cody nodded again. “Already done sir. We talked about that six weeks ago after the council meeting you took on that assignment. The Vod'e in the hamper committee have been working for the past five weeks to get everything finished on time, and the Vod'e in the decorating committee started just last week. You'll notice the main hall and refectories have been finished and they are working their way down the main halls right now.”

“Alright,” Obi-Wan said slowly, he hadn't noticed at all. “Well, it sounds like past-me and past-you had things well in hand for Life Day.”

Cody nodded with confidence. “We did indeed, sir. Now if there was nothing else, I'm going to go see Fox over in the Coruscant Guard office and work with him about the new planet patrol routes we're establishing.”

“Of course,” Obi-Wan waved his hand in polite dismissal. “Thank-you for your hard work, Commander.”

Cody nodded his head and left Obi-Wan sitting at the table.

He hadn't realized his memory had been _that_ bad.

Obi-Wan stroked his beard in thought before sighing and heading off to his next task. He didn't have any more time to think about it.

* * *

The shopping for his close personal friends and lineage took longer than he would have liked.

Three days left until Life Day, and he was still trying to pick out the right small gifts for those he was closest to.

Some were easy. A new wrench set for Anakin (who had lost half of his last one over the past year), a bag of fine Haruun Kal Red tea for Mace, a beautiful, red, embroidered hooded-poncho for Ahsoka (who always seemed to misplacing her warm clothes), a book of Shyriiwook puns for Aayla (who had recently taken on a new wookiee padawan), a photography book of the galaxy's rarest stars for Garen, a scarf in 104th grey for Plo, and a fine, aged Corellian Whisky for Luminara (who was a notorious whiskey snob).

Some were more difficult to find. Like an album of Bellassian classical string music for Padme, a decorative silver arm circlet for Quinlan (that had a secret compartment for alcohol... well it was for any liquid, but Obi-Wan would bet Quin would use it for alcohol), some rare algae chocolate for Bant and Kit, and a potted, climbing swamp-plant for Master Yoda.

But despite the difficulty he had in procuring the last four items, Obi-Wan was still able to find things that spoke to what he wanted to give each person.

One person was proving to be incredibly difficult to buy for. And nothing Obi-Wan saw throughout his day would work.

There were many things that Obi-Wan could give this person to show his gratitude for them in his life, but nothing felt _right_. And not only that, but today was the only day he could spare to shop for such gifts. He had put off a lot of tasks to leave the temple for this shopping expedition.

Discouraged, Obi-Wan turned to head back to the temple, when he walked past a small shop run by a shriveled, grandmotherly Muun, sitting in the store window and brushing her pet tooka.

One look at her wares through the shiny window told Obi-Wan this was exactly what he had been looking for.

He smiled to himself and entered the shop.

* * *

During their next meeting, Cody mentioned that many of the Vod'e had requested Obi-Wan and some of their Jedi Commanders join them at their Life Day meal. Which worked for Obi-Wan, then he had a legitimate excuse to not cook one himself.

So when Life Day rolled around, Obi-Wan found himself headed towards the large multipurpose hall, just before late-day meal, ready to spend the rest of the night with the Vod'e and a few close friends.

Although Obi-Wan had thought to originally the feast would be for just the men under his command, Cody had thought to include every one of the Vod'e on Coruscant and still have space for extra guests. Cody really was a master at organizing large groups of people like this. If he hadn't been, Obi-Wan would have had a much harder time commanding the 7th Sky Corps during the war.

He knew it would be a very large and boisterous meal with that many men attending, but Obi-Wan wasn't complaining. Being invited to the Vod'e Life Day meal meant he was off the hook for cooking for this year's meal, and there was the bonus that most of his friends had been invited too.

The noise of happy, chattering voices was already at a dull roar as he approached the room and entered. Men were lingering about, plates of food in hand or waiting in line to serve themselves at the multiple buffets filled with roasted tip-yip, tip-yip gravy, mashed butter-root, cooked vegetables, soft flaky sweet-rolls and the largest bowls of punch Obi-Wan had ever seen.

“Obi-Wan!” Quinlin called from where he was been sitting at one of the hundreds of long tables, talking eagerly to Boil, Waxer and a few other Vod'e.

Obi-Wan nodded at his friend, knowing he would catch up with him later, and turned instead to where Anakin, Padme and Ahsoka were approaching him.

“—can't drink any more punch Ani, you promised!” Padme was saying, a hand clasped under her big belly to support it's heavy weight.

“I don't remember promising not to have punch,” Anakin rolled his eyes, taking a long and pointed sip from his cup.

“It's spiked, and you promised you wouldn't drink or eat anything I couldn't, as a show of solidarity to me,” she raised one perfectly sculpted eyebrow at him, and then looked sharply down at her descended abdomen.

He looked at her sheepishly and then back at the cup he'd just drank from. “Well how was I supposed to know.” He sighed and eyed the delicious looking punch one more time and then handed it over to Ahsoka.

“Anakin,” Obi-Wan scolded his former apprentice as they neared. “I'm sure you didn't just see you hand your alcoholic punch to your 17 year-old, underage padawan.”

Anakin rolled his eyes even harder, so hard Obi-Wan was sure they were about to pop out of his head. “She's fine, Obi-Wan.” Ahsoka was sipping at the cup of punch happily as Anakin spoke. “You let me have wine younger than she was.”

They'd already met up and exchanged gifts that morning. Anakin and Padme had been pleased with his gifts and Ahsoka was even wearing the red poncho he'd gifted her. She nodded to Obi-Wan and began to walk away to talk to some of the men, accepting kind compliments on her poncho, from various Vod as they drifted by.

“I did not let you,” Obi-Wan crossed his arms, “You snuck off and got drunk on a diplomatic mission we had on Kwenn. I seem to remember a very pretty young governor's daughter that you also got drunk while I was dealing with the politicians. You almost compromised all my work!”

“Really?” Padme looked like she was about to start laughing at her husband. “What happened?”

“Nope, enough of story time!” Anakin said quickly, pulling his wife away and towards the buffet lines. “I'm hungry, let's get food. We'll see you later, Master!”

“And I really did like that robe you vomited on, you know!” Obi-Wan called after Anakin, laughing. The festive, cheerful mood of the participants in the room was starting to get to him, and he was feeling almost giddy.

Obi-Wan scanned the room. Seeing Crys headed his way, and knowing the 212th's medic would probably inquire after his health, Obi-Wan turned and almost ran behind a group of Vod'e in line for food. The last time Obi-Wan had seen Crys a few weeks ago, the medic had interrogated him about his sleeping habits for almost an hour.

In trying to lose the medic, he almost bumped right into Cody.

“Cody!” Obi-Wan put his hand on Cody's shoulder with a sunny smile, “You did a spectacular job on this!” Obi-Wan gestured to the room around them. “Have you had the chance to eat yet?”

“Not yet.”

“Good, then allow me to escort you to the buffet table!”

“Still avoiding Crys?” Cody said with mocking smile, but allowed himself to be lead to one of the line-ups, nonetheless.

“Hush you,” Obi-Wan scolded him jokingly.

* * *

The feast and following party were a resounding success amongst the men.

After the meal was over, most of the tables were taken down and moved out of the way. A DJ came in to play music for dancing and karaoke. Some of the Vod'e danced, while many others just wandered around, chatting and enjoying themselves.

Most of the men were dressed in their new sets of casual clothes that Obi-Wan (well really the Order and Cody) had gifted them for Life Day, and Obi-Wan was so happy to see them all enjoying themselves and feeling both comfortable and relaxed in the temple.

Not all of them would make their homes here in the future. And even though he was sure most of them would even stay with the Order's Judicial Forces once everything settled, he was happy for _all_ of them to feel comfortable in the temple and know they had a home here if they ever wanted it.

As the night drew on, the causal enjoyment in the room spread.

Even Obi-Wan who'd arrived sans-cloak, had taken off his outer tunic and put on the festive sweater the Captains and Lieutenants had all chipped in to buy for him.

It was an ugly, bright orange sweater that clashed horribly with his hair, but he guessed it was an honest attempt at the 212th gold. Embroidered on the front of the sweater was the symbol of the Jedi order stitched in black. The embroidery had been carefully hand-stitched, and he wondered which of the Vod'e had had a hand in creating the design. It was surprisingly well-made and there was a deep care and happiness in the Force surrounding the sweater. Wearing it made Obi-Wan feel high on the feeling.

But it probably didn't help that he'd had six glasses of _very_ strong punch by this point.

Many of the High Council and a few other prominent Jedi appeared as time went on, drawn in by the cheerful and excited atmosphere of the room.

At one point when Obi-Wan stepped up to the mic to sing a karaoke song with Wooley (who had wanted to go up, but was feeling too shy to go by himself), Obi-Wan spotted Mace in deep discussion with Cody, and he saw Yoda surrounded by a group of Vod'e, laughing as the wizened, old Master told them humorous stories about many of the Jedi as children.

Yoda knew quite a few embarrassing ones about Obi-Wan, and he prayed to the Force that Yoda didn't tell some of those, because he would never live those down.

After Wooley and Obi-Wan finished their song, there were loud cries for more from them. Apparently they didn't sound too bad together. So Wooley and Obi-Wan sang three more songs together before the two of them called it a night and finally got off the stage so someone else could have a turn.

Anakin, Padme and Ahsoka had long since disappeared and Obi-Wan was feeling a little unsteady: drunk on punch and happiness.

He made his way over to where Cody was standing, happy to see the man was still there.

* * *

After the meal, Cody watched with amusement as the General... err, Master Kenobi flitted around to various groups of Vod'e, checking in on them and sincerely wishing them each a Happy Life Day.

Many of the groups were glad to see him and often offered him a glass of punch or another helping of dessert, trying to get him to stick around and talk with them.

By the time the DJ had finished setting up, Cody noticed that Obi-Wan was beginning to seem a bit unsteady on his feet from all the punch he'd had.

Cody snorted, hoping he wouldn't have to physically carry Obi-Wan back to his rooms.

“Please don't let him get too drunk,” a dry voice spoke just behind him, which had Cody jumping in surprise. The crowd was noisy enough that he hadn't notice someone walk up behind him. “He'll be a nightmare if he has to come to tomorrow morning's Council meeting hungover.”

Cody turned and grinned at Mace Windu. “I don't know, General, I feel like it might be kind of endearing.”

“I promise it's not. You know how Skywalker complains whenever he isn't feeling one hundred percent? It goes double for Obi-Wan when he's hungover.” The older man sighed through his nose. “I guess it makes sense that Skywalker must have gotten that behavior from somewhere, but Obi-Wan's a nightmare when he's hung over.”

Cody let out a surprised chuckle. “I'm glad I won't have to be in your meeting tomorrow then, to be forced to witness that.”

Windu sighed in fond exasperation, before his face settled into seriousness. “Everything seems to have gone off without a hitch. Do you think he suspects?”

“That he really did completely forget about Life Day and we arranged it all when we realized how stressed and overwhelmed he was with everything else?” Cody clarified and then shook his head in bemusement. “No. He's still clueless.”

“Perfect,” Windu grinned, his white teeth gleaming bright in the dim lighting of the room. “It's been very nice working with you, Commander Cody,” Windu held out a hand for Cody to shake.

Cody nodded, shaking the hand firmly, “The same goes to you. I appreciate how efficient a team we made.”

Mace grunted his agreement. “If you ever want to work with another Jedi, I would be happy to switch you to my purview,” he said jokingly.

“Nice try, but there's only one Jedi I've always trusted to always have my back, on or off the battlefield.”

Mace smiled and nodded in understanding. “He's an amazing man, an amazing friend and Jedi. We're all lucky to have him in our lives.”

Cody nodded seriously, his eyes straying to where Obi-Wan had his arm slung around Wooley's shoulders, the two of them singing into the microphone as song about “loving rock and roll”.

“We are.”

* * *

Cody helped Obi-Wan back to his room. An arm slung around his neck.

“I had a fun time,” Obi-Wan smiled, eyes fluttering open and closed in exhaustion. “You did an amazing job organizing everything tonight, Cody.” He seemed to be a lot more sober than when they'd left the party, but also a lot more tired.

Cody leaned his General against the wall and unlocked the door with the code Obi-Wan gave him. “Thank-you sir.”

“I'm glad you walked me here, I have something for you. I wanted to give it to you by the end of the day, so I'm glad I now have the chance.”

“You didn't have to get me anything, sir.” Cody closed the door behind them.

Obi-Wan moved slowly over to the coffee table and picked up a very large, wrapped present and handed it over.

It was a lot lighter than Cody would have expected for it's large size and shape.

“Open it,” Obi-Wan nodded.

Cody opened it and gasped as the gift that spilled out from the paper. It was a blanket.

The blanket was a dark, midnight blue, bordering on black. Small gold stars were stitched into various spots along the material. The underside of the blanket was a solid, velvety-soft, rich brown that reminded Cody of the shade of Obi-Wan's robe.

“It's reversible,” Obi-Wan smiled at him.

Cody ran his hands over the material reverently. He'd never had anything so beautiful or comforting before. It was perfect. “How did you know?” Cody looked up at Obi-Wan in confusion. Cody hadn't even known he'd wanted this until it was in his arms.

Obi-Wan smiled at him softly. “On Tibrin, there was one night we ended up sleeping behind our hastily constructed barriers. You and me switched shifts to keep watch on the nervous shinies. It wasn't often we had to literally sleep outside on a campaign, especially with the Negotiator being so close. But that night we were caught between opposing forces and it didn't make sense to send back, even in shifts, so we just got what little sleep we could.

“It was a cold night and you were shivering in your sleep. I took off my robe and tucked it around you. You curled into it, clinging to the material, like it could be suddenly ripped away.” Obi-Wan finished, looking down at his hands. “When it was my turn to sleep, you gave me back my cloak. I was still shaking from a detonator going off too close to my head and you sat there, hand on my shoulder while I slept, comforting me. Throughout the war I often thought of your hands curling around that material, how you took that comfort offered and offered even more back.”

Obi-Wan looked up and right into Cody's eyes. “You are a courageous, empathetic man that I feel honored to work with everyday. A man I was grateful to have fighting by my side, and a dear friend I feel blessed by the Force to have in my life, still.”

Cody tried to blink away the moisture in his eyes. He carefully put the folded blanket down on the coffee table and approached Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan seemed to know exactly what he wanted and opened his arms for a hug.

For a few quiet moments they embraced, Cody clutching hard at his friend's shoulders.

“Thank-you sir,” Cody choked as they broke apart.

Obi-Wan shook his head. “Obi-Wan. There are no ranks between us right now.”

“Obi-Wan. Thank-you for the gift, it's amazing.”

His General smiled at him, it was that same smile that always reassured Cody when they were on the battlefield in a precarious, dangerous situation. “You're welcome. It was the least I could do for such an amazing friend that takes care of me and my problems even when I forget to. Even when he shouldn't have such a large weight on his shoulders. Now, if you'll excused me,” he picked up a small wrapped gift that had been sitting on the counter by the door. “I have to go deliver this gift to Mace, who has also been such an amazing friend to me as well.”

Cody's eyes widened. _Did he know?_

“Happy Life Day, Cody,” Obi-Wan winked at him, turned and walked out of the door.

Cody stood stalk still, staring at the closed door for a few minutes before he started laughing. And they had thought they'd been sneaky.

Cody picked up the blanket and showed himself out, pressing the electronic lock closed behind him.

Happy Life Day indeed, Cody smiled down at the soft bundle in his arms and headed out to his own quarters.

* * *


End file.
